Manchester City's 2025-26 Premier League season will be remembered as the season of two halves. First half (August-December): without Rodrigo Hernandez, City were vulnerable in ways that had not been visible since before the Rodri era. The midfield lacked protection, the pressing was disorganised, and the results were inconsistent. The title gap opened in ways that, by January, seemed irreversible. Second half (January-May): Rodri returns. Bernardo Silva becomes undroppable. Guardiola refines the system around the new defensive balance. City go on a run of form that, if maintained from August, would have had them level with Arsenal. The lesson: Rodri's importance to City cannot be overstated. He is not one midfielder among several — he is the pivot around which the entire system rotates. His absence revealed how much of City's defensive intelligence was personalised rather than systemic. For next season: Guardiola must build a system that is less dependent on a single player. The squad investment in the summer will partly be designed to solve this problem. Sunday at Chelsea. The second half continues. 📅 Sun 12 Apr, 07:30 UTC | Stamford Bridge 🏆 GW30 | The Season of Two Halves